Best Around
by Mr. Blender
Summary: Sam approaches defense training with a cheery attitude, short-shorts, and inspirational tunes.


**This is just a stupid little Lara/Sam idea that I've had sitting around for a while. It's a bit old, so sorry if it's a tad oddly written.**

* * *

I hadn't thought that Lara was being serious when she told me late one night that she was going to teach me how to fight. She had just sat up from bed with a sudden quickness, her eyes glazed tiredly over with sleep, her hair tussled adorably, and said it wearily before lying down. I had just chalked it up to sleepy ramblings, something I, myself, had a lot of experience with. I hadn't thought any more about what Lara had said and promptly fell asleep.

Now, here I was, standing in the living room on some mats that Lara had set up this morning.

"Sooo, I'm guessing this isn't going to be something kinky." I ask, looking down at the mats from where I was standing and smiling a bit.

Lara looks at me with a stern look that I've come to know and love. "Sam, please take this seriously."

"I am. I'm super serious. Look at me in awe of my stone-cold seriousness." I say, making the most serious face I can manage without giggling.

"Sam…" She warns.

"How am I supposed to take this seriously with you dressed like that? You're freaking hot, Lara!" I say, my giggles slipping through.

"I hardly see your reasoning, I always wear this." She replies, rolling her eyes.

That was exactly the reason that I found it so undeniably irresistible. Lara was only wearing a pair of sweatpants and a black tank top, but that's all I needed. The tank top didn't even show cleavage and I was loving to see her wear it. The fact that it was so plain made it the sexiest of all. I can see her scars, running all along her arms and shoulders. Couple that with her stern expression, and you have the world's sexiest badass staring back at you.

"Oh, come on... Surely you can see the appeal of "work-out clothes" Lara."

"Sam, seriously. I want to do this."

"Oh, fine. Let's do all the things that… YOU want to do..." I say in a playfully dramatic voice, walking off into our bedroom to change into something more work-out appropriate. I look through my wardrobe, wondering what I should wear that won't be too uncomfortable if we're wrestling around.

Oh, the images that pop into my head.

Maybe, she'll lock me in some sort of hold. One that has me up against the floor and trying in vain wriggle away- I have to stop myself before that particular fantasy goes too far. Hello, drool. Nice for you to drop by. Wiping the wetness that pools on my lips, my attention is returned to the wardrobe. I grin widely as I see exactly what I'm going to wear for our little sparring match.

The look on Lara's face when I emerge from the bedroom is absolutely priceless.

I decided to find the shortest shorts I could find. They just barely pass as shorts and are black with a white stripe on the side. I'm also wearing a particularly tight-to-my-chest tank top of the same color. I grin with glee as she tries to pick her jaw up from the floor, pretty much failing to do so. She's finally able to get a hold on herself and looks at me with a slight frown.

"Sam, that's hardly appropriate." She says, a light red coming to her cheeks.

"I don't see how it hurts our situation, though..."

"Sam…"

"Are we going to get to the Karate Kid shit, soon? I'm really in the mood for a montage." I say, punching in the air and starting to sing. "Try to be best, 'cause you're only a man and a man's gotta learn to take it-"

I swing my leg up into a crane kick. "-Try to believe, when the going gets rough, that you gotta hang tough to make it~"

Lara looks at me with an unamused face. "You're acting like this is a joke."

"I said I was serious, Lara. Remember? Stone-cold serious?"

"Right, I remember."

"Alright, so, let's get some montage material, Master Croft. Quick, let's get some inspirational music!" I say, giggling.

Her eyes narrow and she throws up her arms in frustration. "You know what, fine. You aren't going to take this seriously, why the hell should I even bother?"

She storms off, leaving me alone in the living room. She should knew me better than anybody. That I'm always joking around, especially when I was around her. What can I say? She brings out my goofy side. So, why was she getting so angry with me now? I walk cautiously to the bedroom, seeing her leaning against the wall with her eyes closed.

"Um, sweetie?" I ask.

She doesn't look up at me. "Go away, Sam. I don't want to talk to you."

"Lara, how am I supposed to know why you're mad if you won't tell me?"

"I shouldn't have to tell you."

"Well, I'm an idiot."

"No, you're an exceptionally smart woman. Even if you were a dumb-arse, I should think you would be able to realize the obvious."

"Enlighten me, then."

"You don't take ANYTHING seriously. Even when it's obviously important to me."

"Yes, I do…"

"Then, what was that? I said I was serious about that, Sam." She says, crossing her arms.

"What was that? I thought I was having a little fun with the woman I love. What's so wrong with that?"

Lara sighs heavily, finally looking over to me with weary eyes. "There's nothing wrong with that… I just want you to know how to protect yourself, should a situation ever arise where you have to… Um… Again. Anyway, it's a serious effort."

"I know it is, Lara. Even if I don't act like I'm taking something seriously, I'm listening to what you're saying. If I act like a big goof the entire time, it's because I'm spending another day with you. With the girl I love."

Her annoyed expression slowly turns to begrudgingly amused as I speak. She eyes me with a small, suspicious smile, looking me up and down. "You completely pulled that out of your arse, didn't you?"

"Every word."

She shakes her head, but that grin still stays on her face. "God, Sam. What am I going to do with you?"

"Well, we could find my IPod and play inspirational music while you throw me around on mats. Who knows, maybe you'll teach me a couple moves..." I say, grinning widely.

"I know that cheeky grin of yours, Sam. And it's not going to work. This is going to be a lesson in self-defense and will not, in any way, be leading to the bedroom. At all."

"Whatever you say, Master Croft." I say, walking from the bedroom. I make sure that it's the most provocative walk it can be. I can almost hear her mumble the words "bloody hell" as I leave the room.

True to her word, we never end up anywhere except on those mats. Which is a shame, considering how hot and sweaty I am. I never imagined that I would work up this amount of sweat at any time in my life. I swear I could make a new river with all the sweat I'm creating. I'm starting to leave stains whenever she tosses me to the mat. Which, I might add, is really rough for someone you happen to sleep with. I'm going to be sore all day.

I think it's probably the seventeenth toss to the mat that does it for me. There's a point when a Sam's had all she can stands and she can't stands no more. Both figuratively and literally, I fear, if I don't take a break.

"Lara, you've been tossing me like a doll for an hour now, can we please take a break?" I wheeze out, peeling my face off the mat. She has my arm pinned behind me, leaning into my back. Upon closer inspection, I would notice that she was sweating nearly as bad as me. I might have been incredibly aroused if it weren't for my sore, achy body and the lukewarm puddle of sweat forming against my face.

"Well, we have been going a long time.." She says, looking up at the clock.

"Time flies when you're tossing a sweaty girl around to a Karate Kid soundtrack."

She climbs off me, gingerly helping me to my feet. "Sorry, Sam… Was I too rough? You could have told me, you know."

"That's alright-"Crack in the back, relief spreading to my body. "-I like it rough, right?"

"Well, I don't want to bruise you or anything-"

"I'm not bruised, I'm a big girl, and I can handle it." I say, catching big breaths of air. "Of course, right now, I wouldn't object to you making up to me… Maybe by…"

"Sam-"

"Making me a tasty and refreshing lunch. Sheesh, Lara. It's twelve in the afternoon, get your mind out of the gutter." I say, flashing her a grin.

"Right, MY mind is in the gutter. Come on, then. Let's go see what we can fix. But, towel yourself off first. You're dripping all over the place." She says, tossing me a towel and walking out to the kitchen.

"That's not the first time you've had me-"

"No, Sam. Don't say another word." Lara calls out from the kitchen.

"What are you going to do if I do? Beat me up? You already did that, remember?" I hum, wiping my face off with the towel.

That appears to have been the wrong choice of words, as her head pokes out of the kitchen with a worried expression. "Beat you up? Did I really? I told you could have said-"

"Lara, it was a joke. Calm down, will you? I would have TOLD you if I was actually feeling really hurt by this. M'kay?"

"Alright… As long as you're sure."

"Stop stalling and get me my lunch, woman!" I say in a mockingly commanding tone, gesturing back to the kitchen.

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she walks back inside. "Honestly, Sam. Sometimes you're too much."

"Hey, you know that isn't ALL true. I'm the best kind of too much." I say with a small grin, an eyebrow raising high on my face. "Say, why don't we pick this back up tomorrow? Maybe I can toss you around a few times, instead."

"You can try."

"I can try? Oh, Lara, Lara.. Haven't you heard the news?"

"The news? No, I don't believe so… Why, did something interesting happen?"

"Yeah, something REAL interesting."

"And, what is that, exactly?"

"Samantha Nishimura… is the BEST… around~!"

The preceding eye roll from Lara is so powerful that I can feel it from the living room, ensuring that the giggles I have been holding are forced from my lips.


End file.
